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Government Term Paper Essay The United States was founded and created by a group of people who wanted to see change and be in control of their future. This country has successfully accomplished this goal. Challenges from ending slavery to giving women the right to vote have all been accomplished through the American people implementing and enforcing new laws to be made. Two important issues facing the United States are Obamacare and illegal immigrants using anchor babies to stay in the country. On the issue of Obamacare, the best policy to follow is to recall Obamacare and create a new bill that is more specific, fixing one level at a time. On the issue of anchor babies, the best policy to follow is to amend the Constitution’s 14th Amendment to clarify the standards of citizenship. On March 10, 2010 President Obama’s new health care was signed into law. This new form of health care is called Obamacare or more formally as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). This bill requires that those who can afford health care must maintain the minimal, essential health insurance coverage. This mandate does not apply to citizens who hold certain religious beliefs or have financial hardships. Once the bill is fully processed, thirty-two million Americans will be able to receive some form of health care. The main intention of Obamacare is that affordability and accountability it brings. Obamacare lowers premiums for families making $44,000-66,000 and $55,000-88,000 a year. This new bill has made it easier for more families and people to receive health care. Obamacare also has begun to resolve Medicare’s prescription â€Å"donut hole†. This has helped senior citizens pay for vital prescriptions. The â€Å"donut hole† occurs after the patient has received $2,830 worth of drugs. At this number, Medicare stops paying for the drugs until the patient has used over $4550 of drugs. Therefore the patient needs to pay for $2,000 before Medicare pays for their prescriptions again. This reform gives donut hole payments a 50% discount and slowly closes this spending gap. The bill plans for the gap to be fully closed by 2020. The process of closing Medicare’s donut hole has already begun (Health Reform). The Affordable Care Act has improved community health centers. Within this improvement, there are more free preventive care treatments along with 1,250 new care centers for twenty million people (Timeline). These centers co-inside with the bill’s customer protection plan. This solidifies that no one may be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions (Health Reform). More people have been treated and helped allowing for a better field of doctors to be used for the necessary and covered treatments that Obamacare has provided. A large intention within Obamacare is to correct and maintain a new policy for business. Small businesses are not required to provide health care. However, if a business has over fifty employees, they are required to make payments that allow for health care benefits if ever needed if they do not have health care insurance (Health Reform). The bill has allowed for over four million small businesses eligible for tax credits so that they may be able to provide health care. Along with tax credit, Obamacare has cracked down on fraud, waste and abuse. This has secured the governments support in this bill. In the future Obamacare plans to reduce paperwork, provide more funding to children’s hospitals, and expand bundling payments (Timeline). Due to the numerous projects and reforms within this large bill, states need more money. This money comes from citizen’s taxes. People who already have health care are being taxed to help pay for others. One of the leading problems that Americans have about Obamacare questions whether or not all Americans have the right to health care. If a person chooses to be homeless and not work, should other citizens have to pay for another’s medical needs? Relating to the previous question, currently the Supreme Court is in the process of deciding if the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional. Obamacare, 2010, stated that everyone must have some form of health care. People have begun to question whether this infringes and stretches Congress’ right to be involved in one’s personal life- even if this is an economic matter. Many individuals and twenty-seven states have begun to challenge Congress and whether the Commerce Clause has the right to expand national power at the expense on individual liberties. In 1824 the Supreme Court case, Gibbons v. Ogden, interpreted the government’s â€Å"commerce† to deal with only state to state/internal commerce affairs (US v Morrison). In 1937 the Supreme Court stretched the Commerce Clause for the government to oversee labor hours and wages. The government was allowed such power that they could even oversee a person’s personal consumption in the Supreme Court case, Wickard v. Filburn, in 1941 (Gaziano). Finally in 1995 the Supreme Court ruled against the government when they wanted to criminalize carrying guns to school. In this case, US v Lopez, the Supreme Court decided that this was not an economic issue and was not covered within the Commerce Clause (Langran). However, the Supreme Court case US v. Morrison became the final breaking point for the government. In 2000 Congress wanted to ban the violence of women. â€Å"The Supreme Court ruled that if there was any other clarification on the Commerce Clause that there would be a fundamental upset within the balance of powers in the Constitution† (Natelson). Throughout America’s history there have been many attempts to improve health care for Americans. Both Democrats- Roosevelt and Truman- and Republicans-Nixon- have done their share of work to help, however, the most recent and successful help came from the Clintons. Creating a new task force, Hillary Clinton spent large sums of money to keep the public interested and willing to support her. When she ran for president against Obama, her largest campaign issue was health care. Her plan was to require all US residents to have some form of health care and that employers must provide health care. Ultimately her work was not enough and was not as favorable as Obama’s idea of lowering the cost of health care rather than requiring it (Health Care). Now Obama has reversed his position on mandates as he created Obamacare. Obama explained to CBS News, â€Å"I’ve been persuaded that there are enough young, uninsured people who are cheap to cover, but are opting out. To make sure that those folks are part of the overall pool is the best way to make sure that all premiums go down† (My Interview). On March 26-28 of 2012, Florida and twenty-six other states argued that that the Affordable Care Act was unconstitutional. During these two days, the Supreme Court listened to the oral arguments. The Affordable Care Act’s largest concept is the availability and affordability for all of America to have health care by 2014. The states questioned the act’s credibility of one’s individual mandate (Katz). The course of the health care case began with Florida on January 31, 2011 when a district judge challenged the new health care act. Claiming that the individual mandate within the reform was unconstitutional called for the whole Affordable Care Act to be nullified. Through the process of appeals, the court decided that the act did infringe on American’s rights; however, the whole bill did not need to be recalled. From this, the federal court took this issue to the Supreme Court (Claeys). All though the oral arguments are complete, the Supreme Court’s decision is not expected unit June of 2012 (Katz). Advocates of the mandate argue that the â€Å"mandate would force all Americans to share the cost of health care† (Health Care). The mandate forces all people to pay so there would be no issue of people paying for others. People would be supporting themselves by paying for their own health care. Supporters of mandatory health care justify their position with the fact that those who don’t think they will need it eventually will. It is better to be safe and have health care if and when you need it. Living in America, a citizen has personal freedoms and with that comes responsibility and maturity. Providing oneself with health care, according to advocates, is a responsibility that must be met in order for citizens to continue to have the freedoms that they do. There are thousands of people who still need health care, Obamacare makes it more affordable; therefore, people will be more willing to get a proper form of health care. Americans will be interested in their benefits which makes them more aware of the issues surrounding health care (Should Illegal Aliens). In 2011 there have been numerous court cases trying to decide if the Affordable Care Act is Constitutional. These cases, such as Thomas Moore law Center v. Barack Obama US President (Patient) are defined as a writ of certiorari law. According to the legal definition, writ of certiorari is â€Å"an order a higher court issues to order to review the decision and proceedings in a lower court to determine whether there were any irregularities† (Definitions). This order given by the Supreme Court so that they may receive a transmit of the records of the cases heard about this issue. According to the information, may it be presented that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act-Obamacare- be recalled. The ideas that the bill presents are effective and appropriate; however, this bill came too soon. America’s current health care system needs other changes before Obamacare may be used. Americans need to obtain health care on their own before it is mandatory. A possible bill to begin the new process may be to focus making Medicare more affordable and efficient. â€Å"In 2011, the federal government spent about $477 million in net Medicare† (Fixing Medicare). The spending rate needs to match up with the number of patients and their medical needs rather than taxing citizens to get quick, un-favored results. A large part of why America has been so successful is because American citizens respect and have pride for the United States of America. The country’s patriotism has brought upon much success including: ending slavery, the Wright brothers’ first airplane, defeating Germany in World War I, and Neil Armstrong being the first man on the moon. Starting in the late 1700’s, America became known as the â€Å"melting pot†. Our multiculturalism makes America successful because all people want to be a part of making the United States better. Over time more and more people have moved to the United States. People wanted to be considered Americans and be official citizens. In the 1990’s alone the US population has increased by twenty-five million people. Within the last one hundred years 197 million people have moved to the United States (Riche). These new people came to America because their lives would be different. New immigrants changed their names, learned English, and wanted to be a part of America. Rather than sticking to their old cultures and lifestyles, immigrants adapted to the American lifestyle. The number of immigrants grew so quickly that the United States had to limit the number of people per country to enter into the United States. The government passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 to limit the number of Chinese immigrants entering the country. This act limited immigration in America to 170,000 Chinese people (National Archives). In June of 1866, the 14th Amendment was ratified into the United State’s Constitution. The 14th Amendment states that â€Å"all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and where they reside† (Rojas). This amendment was added to the Constitution to support and protect the freed African American population after the Civil War ended in 1865 (The Debate). This first part of the 14th Amendment is known as the Citizenship Clause. The second part of the 14th Amendment is the Equal Protection Clause which states â€Å"that no state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor deny to any person their jurisdiction of equal protection of the laws† ( US History). In 1898 the Supreme Court case, US v. Wong Kim Ark, questioned whether the United States could deny naturalization to anyone born in the United States under the 14th Amendment. Born in San Francisco, Ark lived with his parents in California. At age twenty-one Ark traveled to China to visit his parents where his parents moved after living in the US for twenty years. Upon his return to the United States, Ark was denied entry. According to the Chinese Exclusion Act, no people of the Chinese race shall be permitted into the country. However, if Ark is considered to be US citizen this act does not apply to him. The Supreme Court concluded that the government could not deny citizenship to a person born in the United States. This case upheld the 14th Amendment (Rojas). Today this case has been upheld and been the foundation of how the Citizenship Clause is applied to United States citizens. Today the number of people moving to America still increases. However, there are another group of immigrants moving to America. In 2000, LIFE Act Amnesty estimated 900,000 illegal immigrants came into the United States. It is determined to be twelve to twenty million illegal immigrants residing in the United States today (Gheen). The rising issue in illegal immigration is the regularity of anchor babies. This term, anchor baby is classified as an illegal/non-citizen who came to the United States and gave birth to their child. Because their child is a US citizen according to the 14th Amendment, these families are able to convince the courts to let them stay and live in America (The Debate). This idea gives illegal immigrants an easy way to beat the system and live in America. Due to the large number of anchor babies born in America it is clear that their parents do not wish to become US citizens. Illegal immigrant families are able to get food stamps and Medicaid through the country’s tax dollars. Along with health care illegal immigrants are getting help putting their children through school. This changes the dynamics and level of public schools as they have to accommodate to these children. This issue has increased so quickly that organizations like FAIR, Federation for American Immigration Reform, has made more attempts to eliminate this problem. FAIR estimated that 425,000 illegal babies are born in the United States per year (McNeil). Other organizations have come together to push for this issue to be resolved. The state of Arizona has taken the imitative to end anchor baby citizenship. This bill, SB 1070, was written in June of 2010. Arizona’s bill â€Å"makes attrition through the enforcement of public policy of all agencies† (Senate Bill). This bill sets up the country for success by cracking down on an individual’s immigration status. If their paperwork is illegitimate, then they will be taken to the custody of US immigration and customs and enforcement. Arizona alone is estimated to have over 300,000 illegal immigrants. Supporters to stop anchor baby citizenship state that â€Å"maternity tourism† is only the beginning of the possibilities of the novelties to come surrounding illegal immigrants. If the United States wants to continue to have the power and the proper influence among the citizens, then they must stop this illegal, increasing birth rate. Eventually all of these children will grow up and be the anchor needed for the family to permanently stay in the country (Beck). Currently a US citizen may not sponsor a family member with a green care unless they are over twenty-one years of age (Kolken). In twenty years there will be an even larger issue with illegal immigration once all of these babies are an adult. Supporters confidently state that having their child in America was their poor decision and does not exempt them the from the law and the US immigration laws. Their bad choice will impact their children, they are illegal citizens and because their children are minors they have no choice but to follow their parents as they are deported (Should Illegal Aliens). On the other side, those against interfering with the immigration question if there is no harm to America’s National Guard then why interfere? Because the child is a US citizen, the parents are then forced to make the difficult decision of whether or not to separate their family until their papers are approved. This then increases the single parent, non-traditional family for many children (Should Illegal Aliens). Those against resolving the anchor baby â€Å"problem† see no real solution because the children are protected under the 14th Amendment and have the right to live in America. Rather than solving the problem, it is suggested that a bill would simply encourage more people to not renew or even get a green card because of the high chance of deportation (Beck). Children who are born in the Unites States should not be guaranteed citizenship if their parents are not legal citizens. The United States is one of eleven other countries who even have â€Å"jus soli† as an option. The legal phrasing of â€Å"jus soli† directly translates to â€Å"the right of the land† (McNeil). Many of these countries, not including the United States, has citizenship as an option. In 1980, Britain changed their Nationality Act to be a preference rather than a mandate for babies born in the country (The Debate). Germany changed their Nationality Act as well in 2000. â€Å"A child shall be a German citizen only it at least one parent has a permanent residence in Germany or lives in Germany for at least eight years (Nationality Act). The United States must amend the 14th Amendment and clarify the true meaning and value of a child born in America. In the 14th Amendment clearly defines the standards needed to be a US citizen then many of the nation’s current problems would be handled. Illegal parents whose children are keeping them here would be deported. There will be less problems with Medicaid and the country’s tax dollars will not be going to those who live here illegally and receive food stamps and putting their children through the public school system. All immigrants living in the United States will want to be here and will be able to receive the correct form of becoming a citizen. Amending the 14th Amendment will restore America’s patriotism and success. America has proven to be the strongest country in the world. In order for the United States to maintain their strong position, the government must take care of the country’s issues first. The country’s health care must not be fixed by Obamacare. A new bill must be enacted that slowly and correctly fixes the foundational issues of the system before requiring all people to have health care. If thirty-two million were to be on America’s current health care, the system would jam and eventually shut down. Along with fixing health care, the anchor baby citizenship issues must be handled. Ronald Reagan explained the problem perfectly, â€Å"a country that cannot control its borders isn’t a country† (Buchannan). Therefore the 14th Amendment must be clarified and steps must be taken to contain illegal immigration in order for the United States to see a successful future. Works Cited Beck, Roy. Anchor Babies: No More Citizenship. Bloomberg Business week. 2009. Web. 28 Apr. 2012. . Buchannan, Pat . Whose Country is This?. World Net Weekly. N.p., 2010. Web. 29 Apr 2012. . Claeys, Eric. Obamacare and the Limits of Judicial Conservatism. National Affairs. National Affairs, Summ. Web. 27 Apr 2012. . The Debate Over Anchor Babies And Citizenship. National Public Radio. 18 Apr. 2010. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. . Definitions: Writ of Certiorari Law Legal Definition. Uslegal.com. US Legal, Inc., 2012. Web. 29 Apr 2012. . Fixing Medicare. New York Time. N.p., 20 Nov 011. Web. 28 Apr 2012. . Gaziano, Todd, and Elizabeth Garvey. Commerce Clause: Expansion of National Power at †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Expense of Individual Liberty. American Government. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 29 Apr. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦2012. Gheen, W.. History of Illegal Immigration in the U.S.. End illegal immigration. Americans for †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.Legal Immigration, 2012. Web. 29 Apr 2012. Health Care Mandates. Issues Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues Controversies. Facts †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦On File News Services, 16 Oct. 2009. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Health Reform Puts American Families and Small Business Owners in Control of Their Own Health Care. The White House. Web. 27 Apr. 2012. . Katz, Daniel. Supreme Court Considers Health Care Reform: Overview. American †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.Government. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. Klein, Ezra. Who Obamacare Got to the Supreme Court. Washington Post. 2012. Web. 27 Apr. 2012. . Kolken Kolken Immigration Lawyers. Immigration Lawyers, US Immigration News and Law Updates. Web. 20 Apr. 2012. . Langran, Robert. Commerce Clause: Recent Interpretations Diminish State Sovereignty. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.American Government. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. McNeil, Brian. Goode Takes on anchor Baby Issue. Daily Progress. 5 Sept. 2008. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. . My Interview with President Obama. CBS News. N.p., 27 July 2009. Web. 29 Apr 2012. . Natelson, Robert G. Commerce Clause: The Misinterpretation of the Commerce Clause. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦American Government. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. National Archives, . Chinese Exclusion Act (1882). Our documents. United States Archives, †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦1989. Web. 29 Apr 2012.

Non Cooperative Target Recognition Information Technology Essay

Non Cooperative Target Recognition Information Technology Essay One of the most important aspects of any combat situation is target identification or recognition. In aerial combat, the problem is compounded because of large ranges and similar looking fighter aircraft. Unless a threat is ascertained, counter offensive action cannot be initiated. The problem of target identification in the present air combat scenario has been further complicated due to the large range of the new generation Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles  [1]  . While in the yesteryears, procedural control and systems like Identify Friend or Foe (IFF) were in place, they did not guarantee positive identification, since they were not stand alone in nature  [2]  . Therefore there was need to develop a stand alone system capable of identifying airborne threats. 2. Thereafter Non Cooperative Target Recognition (NCTR) techniques were developed, which did not depend on any direct participation from the target for identification purposes. With the emergence of this technology, a big hope was created that this technique would be resolve all the identification issues. The NCTR technology started gaining momentum in the mid eighties and is yet to prove its capability, almost 25 years on  [3]  . Despite technological advances in computers, NCTR is yet to see the light of the day. Though many modern day Airborne Interception (AI) radars feature NCTR, it is still not being used as the primary means of target identification. NCTR at present is being used in conjunction with IFF and other procedural methods primarily due to its reduced reliability. 3. Incorporation of NCTR technology in the older AI radars may involve change of the radar itself. Considering this and the fact that NCTR technology has not fully matured, is NCTR really the most economically viable solution for airborne target identification at present? Or is there a better system available for this purpose? Methodology 4. Statement of Problem. Modern day air combat environment is dense with both friendly as well as hostile aircraft. Identification is a serious problem and this has been further compounded by significantly large ranges of new generation air to air missiles. Erstwhile methods of target identification like IFF have failed in many situations, leading to fratricides. Would employment Non Cooperative Target Recognition techniques alone resolve this issue? 5. Hypothesis. NCTR as a technology is very demanding on the computer hardware as well as software. So at present NCTR may not be the best solution for problems related to aircraft identification in a dense air combat environment. It is possible to get inputs from all available sensors like AI radars, AWACS, aerostats etc and integrate them to form an intelligent composite picture and identify friends from foes. However NCTR as a concept is still very lucrative. 6. Justification of Study. The requirement and importance of target identification is fairly obvious and history will bear testimony to the fact that most of the fratricides have been due to incorrect identification. Earlier systems have failed primarily because the onus of identification was with the target. Inability to prove himself for whatever reason, resulted in a friendly target being declared hostile. While NCTR as a concept seemed to be a good solution, the technological implementation of the concept has still not emerged fail proof. Also, integration of various other existing sensors in a networked environment to form an intelligent composite picture seems to be a more viable solution. 7. Scope. The scope of this paper is to examine as to whether NCTR is really the path ahead, as far as target identification goes. The paper will look into the complexities associated with database required for airborne target identification (3 dimensional space, multiple aircraft configurations etc.) and also the technical limitations associated with implementation of NCTR. The paper would also examine the feasibility of implementing other techniques of identification. The scope would be limited to logical analysis based on available information on the subject and would not involve any scientific experiment or mathematical computations. 8. Methods of data collection. NCTR as a subject has gained momentum only in the past few years and hence has very few publications giving basic insight. Most of the data has been collected on the internet including soft copies of the books and validated thesis by others. The sources are mentioned in the bibliography at the end of the paper. 9. Organisation of the Dissertation. It is proposed to study the subject in the following manner:- (a) Chapter I Introduction and Methodology. In this chapter the subject is introduced. This chapter also defines the statement of problem, the justification for the research and the methodology involved. (b) Chapter II Need for Airborne Target Identification systems. This chapter brings out the requirement and complexities involved in airborne target identification. (c) Chapter III History of NCTR. This chapter gives a brief insight into the history of NCTR (d) Chapter IV How exactly NCTR Works. To appreciate the complexity involved in the airborne identification process, it is important to understand how exactly NCTR functions. This chapter brings out the complexities involved in the working of NCTR. (e) Chapter V Various Types of NCTR Techniques. This chapter brings out the types of NCTR techniques available for use. Though the chapter is technical in nature, it is important to assimilate the various techniques in order to understand the complexity and short comings of the system. (f) Chapter VI Database Generation. The efficiency of entire process involved in NCTR depends on an accurate and exhaustive database. This chapter brings out the methods available and the limitations in generating adequate database. Again this chapter like the previous chapter is slightly technical in nature despite best efforts of keeping it as simple as possible. (g) Chapter VII Technical Limitations of the System. While so far the paper dealt with the software aspects, this chapter would bring out the technical limitations of the hardware required by the radar for functioning of NCTR. (h) Chapter VIII Alternatives to NCTR. This chapter looks at the alternatives to NCTR for target identification. (j) Chapter IX Conclusion. This chapter concludes the topic. CHAPTER II NEED FOR AIRBORNE TARGET IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMS If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles. SUN TZU Introduction 1. In any hostile situation it is important to identify the adversary. Without knowing who the enemy is, how can one fight? Same is true for aerial combat, only with added degree of difficulty. While in the earlier years, aircraft identification was mostly restricted to visual identification, with improvement in technology this was no longer possible. The increasing weapon ranges post World War II made it difficult to visually identify aircraft in air during combat. 2. And also, any given airspace may contain friendly, neutral as well as hostile aircraft. How can one fire at an aircraft without ascertaining its nature / intent. Therefore aircraft identification forms a vital part prior to weapon launch. Tragic Incidents. 3. History is full of tragic incident of misidentification in air. There are numerous examples of neutrals having been shot from the sky. There also many cases of fratricides even in the recent conflicts. Some of them have been enumerated below  [4]  :- (a) On 5 October 2001, a Russian Sibir Tu-154 Airliner flying from Israel to Russia was thought to have been shot down by a missile fired by Ukrainian troops in a military exercise. (b) In April 1994, 02 USAF F-15 aircraft under positive control, accidently shot down their own Army Black Hawk Helicopters in Northern Iraq  [5]  . Visual Identification of Aircraft 4. World War Era. In both the first and second world war, aircraft recognition did not pose any major problem. In this era, the kill solution was attained by use of guns and hence the weapon ranges were much closer as compared to the distances at which the targets were discernable. The aircraft were slow moving and it was possible to spot and identify the type of aircraft before commencing offensive action. The combat was largely within the so called Visual Bubble of the pilot/s. As can be seen from Fig 2.1, the aircraft can be visually recognized by identifying the distinct shape, colour and characteristic visual features of the aircraft. Due training was imparted for this. In fact, in United Kingdom, The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) was formed, which had civilian personnel specially trained for identifying aircraft  [6]  . Fig 2.1 : Aircraft of World War Ihttp://www.military-aircraft.org.uk/ww1-fighter-planes/nieuport-17.jpgRoyal Aircraft Factory SE5A World War One Aircraft 5. Post World War II. However post World War II, there was a rapid improvement in the fighters and weapon technology. With the advent of close combat air to air missiles and increase in weapon ranges, the hostile aircraft had to be identified by at least 2-3 km to initiate evasive action. Also the newer jets were similar looking in terms of shape and size. In the Fig 2.2, photos of F-15 and MiG-29 aircraft are placed side by side for comparison. While F-15 is an American fighter, MiG-29 is from erstwhile Russia. One can easily appreciate the similarity of features which may result in one being mistaken for the other. If this is the case at close ranges (20 30m), it would be reasonable to assume that visual identification would be almost impossible at ranges of 2 km and beyond. Fig 2.2 : Visual Comparison of F-15 and MiG-29 Fightershttp://www.atfx.org/photos/f15a.jpghttp://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/fighter/mig29/mig29_12.jpg 6. Post World War II, there also has been a significant increase in the speed of fighters engaged in aerial combat. This fact together with earlier mentioned aspects makes visual identification a passà ©. The use of radars did give some respite to the aerial fighters. However the weapon solution was still based on visual identification. With the advent of BVRs, the need for alternate means of identification gained importance. Without this, the full capability of BVR cannot be exploited  [7]  . 7. To tackle this problem of target identification, some techniques like the IFF (Identify Friend or Foe) have been developed so far. IFF systems are based on challenge response system. The system consists of a transponder fitted on the aircraft which replies in the form of suitable codes to any other IFF system. If the codes match, the aircraft is declared friendly. However should the code be incorrect or in case of no response, the aircraft is declared hostile. It should be kept in mind that response would not be possible in case of battle damage, loss of encryption keys, wrong encryption keys, or equipment failure. Therefore the major drawback of this system was that it was imperative on the part of the friendly aircraft to prove that he is friendly. In the event of faulty transponder, there are chances of fratricide. 8. Therefore there is a need to have a stand alone system capable of identifying and recognizing aircraft to take timely responsive action and also to prevent fratricide / shooting down of neutrals. CHAPTER III HISTORY OF NCTR Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories. SUN TZU 1. Need for a Stand Alone System. As can be seen from the last chapter, the IFF systems had a major drawback, that of requiring participation from the other aircraft. Inability to participate in the challenge response loop by other aircraft due to whatever reason was construed as Hostile by the system. This has resulted in many fratricides in the past. A number of such fratricides due to faulty IFF resulted in the need for a stand alone system. Some more cases of disasters due to faulty IFF are enumerated below:- (a) 1980. An Italian DC-9 passenger plane was shot down with a missile near Sicily. The missile was aimed by mistake because of incorrect IFF and discrimination of the type of plane. 81 passengers died.  [8]   (b) 1988. In the Persian Gulf, an Iranian Airbus was shot down by an SM-2 standard missile. The aircraft was erroneously recognized as an F-14 fighter aircraft. 298 people died.  [9]   (c) 2003. A glaring example of fratricide due to faulty IFF is that of two Royal Air Force Tornados returning after a mission in Iraq , which were shot down by US Patriot missiles on 22 Mar 03, in which both the crew were killed instantly. The investigating board attributed one of the causes as faulty IFF probably broken down due to power failure  [10]  . 2. These kind of mishaps led to the requirement of having a system which could identify aircraft without the active involvement of the unidentified aircraft. The concept of NCTR dates back from the mid seventies. A program started by the USAF code named Musketeer, introduced the idea of NCTR for the first time. In this program, the aircraft radar was used to count the fan blades in the engine  [11]  . This technology was later named as Jet Engine Modulation which would explained in detail in the subsequent chapter. The radar signature was unique to each engine. Since most aircraft had different engines, this technique was exploited for identifying the type of aircraft. 3. Though the concept was introduced in the mid seventies, the computational technology then was not adequate. The radar per se only gathers data and the extraction of useful information has to be done by the radar computers. Hence NCTR technology had to wait till mid eighties for the computer technology to catch up.  [12]  Thereafter the USAF had incorporated NCTR modes in the An/APG 63 radar of F-15 C aircraft. During the Gulf war in 1990- 91, use of this technique was made in conjunction with Airborne Warning And Control System (AWACS) for identifying hostile aircraft  [13]  . 4. Post Gulf war some progress was made in Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) systems. These systems did not restrict themselves to aircraft radars and were mostly ground based systems using millimetric wave radars  [14]  . The ranges of these radars were significantly lesser than airborne interception radars. While these radars were completely different in terms of technology and operating ranges, the basic concepts were similar. However the computations involved in aerial target recognition was much higher than ground targets. Though many experiments were conducted on ATR systems, the progress in NCTR was not at the same pace. 5. Post 1985, NCTR was tried and fitted on the USAF F-14, F-16 and F-18 aircraft. In addition, NCTR was also fitted on selected foreign F-15s (Israeli), British Tornados and French Mirage 2000-5s  [15]  . Today, in 2010, the technology has still not fully matured and still cannot be used in isolation for aerial target identification. CHAPTER IV PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION AND COMPONENTS OF NCTR Principle of Operation 1. Now before proceeding further, it would be prudent to understand how NCTR principles work. NCTR fundamentally relies on the returns from the target aircraft. Hence no active participation (as in IFF) is required from the target aircraft. Non Cooperative Target Recognition like any other identification process would in simple terms consist of first sensing the target. Then the relevant features of the target are extricated and compared with a database. Thus any NCTR system should essentially contain a Sensor, a Feature Extractor and a Classifier. 2. The principle of operation of NCTR is very similar to Optical Character Recognition (OCR) as in computers. The data from the target is collected by a suitable sensor and relevant data extracted. This is compared to the data existing in the library and then classified based on the results of the comparison. And for the success of this technique, a huge library of various aircraft profiles is required as database for comparison. The steps involved in identifying the target aircraft has been depicted in Fig 4.1. The flow chart of target recognition shows that the Recognition Algorithm takes two inputs namely measured target signature and signatures stored in the library and gives target identity as the output. Recognition Algorithms have been briefly explained subsequently. Fig 4.1 : Flowchart of Target Recognition SENSOR 3. Choice of Sensor. Choice of sensor is a very important part of this identification process. Without proper or adequate returns from the target, it would be nearly impossible to accurately classify the aircraft. For NCTR per se, a number of sensors are available Optical, Infra red, laser, acoustic and radar. However the optical, IR and laser sensors are prone to adverse weather conditions like moisture, dust etc. Also the detection ranges of these sensors are significantly lesser as compared to air to air weapon ranges especially in a BVR environment. Radar as a sensor has significant advantages as compared to the other sensors for the following reasons  [16]  :- (a) Aircraft are generally constructed by radar reflective material (even those with carbon composite have metal parts that reflect radar). (b) Radar can be used by day or night and is not affected by haze, fog, snow and rain. (c) Radar ranges are much higher than other sensors due to reduced atmospheric propagation attenuation.. (d) Radar has been one of the most extensively used sensors for aerial surveillance and the technology to generate, receive and process radar signals has been continuously refined for nearly 100 years. Hence radar is the optimum choice of sensor for NCTR on fighter aircraft. Moreover radars are already in place in all the modern generation fighters. Hence there would be no requirement to add a separate sub system on the aircraft. 4. Sensor Requirements. The radar capability required for the NCTR is specific. It is misnomer that any radar can be made NCTR capable. Suitable radar software is not the only thing that required for NCTR process. It is important that the radar design is appropriate to the type of measurement that has to be performed and to provide the type of target signature required. In order to obtain signatures of high integrity, the waveform must be carefully designed and the radar must support the transmission and reception of the signal without distortion  [17]  . The radar must be designed to minimize the effects of multiple reflections and clutter. The radar must also possess sufficient energy so that the returns from the target contain adequate data, required for the recognition process. Therefore it may not be possible to upgrade the existing radars with NCTR capability. Should it be possible, it may entail change of major components, which may not be the most economical solution for preventing fratricides. FEATURE EXTRACTOR 5. Function. The returns from the radar are simply electromagnetic pulses. It is of no use unless, relevant data is extracted from them. This is done by the Feature Extractor. Feature extraction is a process which happens inside the radar computer by means of suitable algorithms. These algorithms look for a specific attribute and isolate them for comparison. The algorithm for feature extraction would depend on the type of NCTR technique being employed for target recognition. Types of NCTR techniques are explained in detail in the next chapter. 6. Constraints. Feature extraction is a highly complex problem due to highly dynamic nature of fighter aircraft  [18]  . The radar returns from the aircraft are highly aspect dependent. More the aspect, more and stronger the radar returns, hence better feature extraction Aspect angle in simple terms is a measure of how much of the target aircraft is visible. When viewed from front / rear minimum area is visible and this is Zero aspect. When viewed from broad side, maximum area of the aircraft is visible. Now the aspect angles in 3D space are both in terms of elevation as well as azimuth. Due to highly aspect dependent nature of the scattered signature, the process of feature extraction becomes even more difficult. Also due to movement of the target, the radar signatures get distorted and this poses problems not only in feature extraction but also classification. These aspects are discussed in detail in Chapter 5. 7. After the radar has transmitted the pulses, detected and processed the return from the target of interest, the target signature is now ready for the recognition process. In order to perform correct target recognition, a lot of information needs to be known about the target. These information are contained in the form of a library in the radar computer. The details of database and database generation are discussed in detail in Chapter 6. CLASSIFIER 8. Classifier. The classifier in an NCTR system compares the extracted features of the target signature with the already existing library of aircraft signatures. The comparison is made with the help of recognition algorithms  [19]  . Recognition algorithms are mathematical techniques or formulae that compare the signatures which have been measured with the mathematical models of aircraft existing in the radar library. The algorithms are designed to analyse and assess how close a match a particular signature is to reference signature contained in the library. With the help of these algorithms, the classifier now assigns the most appropriate and closest identity to the target. Shown in the fig 4.2 is a target signature being compared with the three reference signatures. On close analysis though the target signature does not perfectly match any of the reference signatures, it is closest to Target C. Therefore the classifier would it assign the measured signature as Target C. Fig 4.2 : Target Signature Comparison with Reference Signatures 9. Target signatures have to be measured, modelled and analysed, to enable the attributes used for recognition to be identified. The techniques for reliably extracting these attributes from the target have to be determined. Libraries of target data have to be assembled, ordered, managed and updated as new targets emerge and more target signature data becomes available. The development of reliable recognition algorithms is clearly critical for developing a high-performance target recognition capability. 10. While a computer can easily identify various objects based on the size, shape, colour etcetera, it would still lack the ability to identify objects logically as the human brain does. Till the neural and genetic algorithms are not fully developed, it would be difficult to optimize NCTR for aerial identification.

Magical Realism as a World View :: Magical Realism Literature

Magical Realism as a World View Magical Realism is the way in which a person views the world through a type of art. Magical realism deals with emotions, and it also discovers what is mysterious and meaningful in life. According to Franz Roh, in painting, is the way a person views the world through art (18, 20). Magical Realism has many characteristics that include many other ideas. Magical Realism can be observed in other subject areas, too, such as the logotherapy of Victor Frankl. Simpkins mentioned that "real life" is the "Real magic" (152). He also said that realism is heightened by magic (148-152). However, Leal felt that Magical Realism focuses on the marvelous in the real (122). Amaryll Chanady feels that Magical Realism is focused more toward reality (131). In Victor Frankl's novel Man's Search for Meaning, Frankl discusses finding this magic in life in what he calls will-to-meaning. Frankl, a twentieth century psychiatrist, states that "life ultimately means taking responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual" (122). This concept is what he called will-to-meaning. Some forms of will-to-meaning are hunger, humiliation, fear, and deep anger at injustice (8). Some importance of will-to-meaning is that he had to find a sense of responsibility in his existence (9). One of the characteristics from will-to-meaning was finding responsibility. In the story Like Water for Chocolate, a magical realist story, a girl named Tita found her circumstances so awful that she found the meaning in her cooking and gave responsibility for life. She was always getting her heart broken because she loved a man named Pedro and could not be with him. Therefore, she learned to have a responsibility for cooking. She could have rebelled and left, but she knew that she had a responsibility to cook for her family and the man whom she loved. Tita found magic in her circumstances and viewed the mundane as beautiful helping her to live successfully in these terrible circumstances. Magical Realism can be observed in other subject areas, too, such as the logotherapy of Victor Frankl. Finding examples in other "real-world" fields of study helps in understanding Magical Realism as a

Use Irony and Magic Realism in One Hundred Years of Solitude Essay

Use Irony and Magic Realism in One Hundred Years of Solitude  Ã‚         In Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, the realistic description of impossible events is an example of both irony and magic realism. Irony is the use of words, images, and so on, to convey the opposite of their intended meaning. Garcia Marquez employs irony on several levels. Sometimes a single word, such as a character's name, suggests something opposite to the character's personality: for example, Prudencio Aguilar, who is not the least bit "prudent".    Sometimes a character's style of speech is ironic. For example, in the chapter on the banana workers' strike, the court uses very stiff, pompous language to state something that is ridiculous: that the banana workers do not exist, because they are technically not "employees" of the firm - an evasion of the government's responsibility that has tragic consequences. Another example is Fernanda's long-winded proclamations of her religious devotion. These are obviously expressions, not of Christian love, but of extreme self-centeredness and rigidity. The apparently patriotic declarations of Liberals and Conservatives alike also have nothing to do with loyalty to the country, but are really about the narrow ambitions of the politicians.    More subtly, what the narrator or the characters say may sometimes contradict what the reader knows to be true. There are many examples in the solemn announcements of Jose Arcadio Buendia, including his finding that ice "is the great invention of our time." Much later, the apparent progress brought by the banana company to Macondo turns out not to be progress at all, but a prelude to devastation.    Still more subtly, Garcia Marquez has reserved a... ...ecise figures for things. Thus, the heavy rains that fall on Macondo-a perfectly normal, but impressive, event in northeastern Colombia-are said to last precisely four years, eleven months, and two days. To a child watching it rain, it might seem to last that long. Three thousand workers are massacred by troops during the banana strike. Colonel Aureliano Buendia fights, and loses, precisely thirty-two wars, and so on.    When we read of such amazing events told in such an objective and naà ¯ve voice, we realize it is up to us, the readers, to interpret their meaning. Whoever is narrating is simply too literal-minded and simple to have trustworthy opinions.    Works Cited    Drabble,   Margaret   The Oxford Companion to English Literature, Oxford University Press 1995 Marquez, Gabriel Garcia One Hundred Years of Solitude, HarperCollins      

Benin :: essays research papers

Benin, independent nation of W Africa, formerly called Dahomey. Once a French protectorate, it is a country of 40 ethnic tribal groups and a low-level economy.Land and EconomyLocated in the bulge on the S side of W Africa, Benin is bordered by Nigeria, Toga, Berkina Faso, and Niger, with 75 mi (121km) on the Gulf of Guinea. The coast is hot and humid, and there are two rainy and two dry seasons; average annual rainfall is 32in (813mm). Benin has three plateaus, one fertile, another of bare rocks, and a third with streams flowing to the Volta and Niger rivers and including the Atakora range. The E section is a plain. Subsistence agriculture is the economic base. Palm products and cotton account for half of export revenues.PeopleThe leading class in Benin is composed of male-line descendants of the Aja (Fons, or Dahomey) who had established the early kingdom. Trained for civil service by the French, they are the best educated; literacy is 25% among school-age children. In the N are the nomadic Fulani and the Somba tribe, hunters with no political organization; E are Baribas. 90% of the population is rural, and 65% practices animist religion. French is the common language.GovernmentBenin has been under military rule since 1970. The constitution of 1977 instituted a national assembly, whose members belong to the sole legal political party, the Benin People's Revolutionary Party.HistoryBenin's history dates back to three principalities-Allada, Porto-Novo, and Dahomey-in the S area who were being pushed by the N Kingdom of Abomey in the 16th century. Dahomey was the most aggressive, pushing N and selling slaves. In 1863 the king of Porto-Novo sought French protection. By 1892 France had subjugated all groups and made them protectorates as part of French West Africa. In 1960 the country became independent as Dahomey. The official name was changed to Benin in 1976. Economic and regional rivalries have caused numerous military coup d'‚tats and changes of government since 1960. The Marxist-Leninist military government in power since 1972, led by Brig. Gen. Mathieu Kerekou, relaxed its authority somewhat during the late 1970s and improved relations with France.

Managing Change in Complex Environment Essay

History and Background Introduction The United States Postal Service (USPS) is an independent government organization that generates income through mail services. It is currently the second largest civilian employer in the United States. Its primary task is to deliver mail around the country, at a standard price, regardless of geographic location. Over the last two centuries, the USPS has evolved into an efficient organization that financially sustains itself through its delivery operations. With a monopoly on the delivery of non-urgent mail, the USPS provides delivery service of about 40 percent of the world’s mail, or approximately 200 billion pieces of mail annually. Starting in the 1990s, the USPS faced increased competition from rival package delivery and courier services, as well as the Internet. Presently the USPS is facing a financial collapse. The USPS needs to undergo an essential and systematic change in order to maintain its significance in the 21st century. History/Background On July 26, 1775, members of the Second Continental Congress appointed a Postmaster General giving birth to the Postal Department of the United States. The mission of the U.S. Postal Department was much the same as today, process and deliver first class and non-urgent mail to individuals and businesses within the United States. Congress passed various laws that grant the post office a â€Å"statutory monopoly† on non-urgent First Class Mail and the exclusive right to put mail in private mailboxes. Although these laws grant the USPS a market advantaged they also restrict its ability to compete with rival package delivery and courier services, as well as the technological innovations. How it got started The Post Office Department has origins in America dating back to the 17th century, when there was a need for mail between colonial settlements and intercontinental exchange of information with England. In 1775, the Continental Congress named Benjamin Franklin as the first postmaster general and chairman of a committee empowered to make recommendations for the establishment of a postal service. On September 22, 1789 the post office became a new government branch of the United States. At this time there were 75 post offices and approximately 2,000 miles of post roads. The USPS was critical to national welfare and pivotal in facilitating communications for military, congressional representation and newspapers. From the very beginning, the USPS financed operations from revenue it earned and Congress gave it a monopoly to be the only courier service to deliver mail. Key points in evolution The main focus and the efforts of postal officials from the foundation of the Post Office to the present day have been finding the best methods of transporting information and directing mail. For example, in 1791 George Washington stated that that the importance of the postal routes had increased because the country wanted to distribute knowledge of governmental laws. Also, between 1791 and 1861, the U.S increased from 3.9 million to 31.4 million square miles and postal roads grew from 1,875 to 240,595 miles. The Board of Governors of the USPS sets policy, procedure, and postal rates for services rendered. Of the eleven members of the Board, nine are appointed by the President and confirmed by the US Senate. The nine appointed members then select the Postmaster General, who serves as the board’s tenth member, and who oversees the day to day activities of the service as Chief Executive Officer. The ten-member board then nominates a Deputy Postmaster General, who acts as Chief Operating Officer, to the eleventh and last remaining open seat. The USPS is often mistaken as a government organization but it is legally defined as an â€Å"independent establishment of the executive branch of the Government of the United States.† Environmental context The external environment elements that significantly influence the USPS are the United States political system, workforce unions, changing technology and market forces. United States Political System In 1970 the U.S. Postal Department evolved into the USPS through the implementation of the Postal Reorganization act. This act required the USPS to be a â€Å"self-sufficient organization within the U.S. Government†. It also added an additional regulatory body into its chain of command, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), but did not make any modification to the Postal Department’s Board of Directors or regulatory congressional statutes. The USPS Board of directors is charged with directing the USPS through the control of expenditures, reviewing practices, long term planning and setting policies and service standards. The PRC has 5 commissioners, appointed through the executive branch and confirmed by the Senate, who have the authority to reject, modify and approve any USPS initiated congressional recommendations. Since congress alone retains the authority to change USPS’ rates, service frequency and employee benefits, any market related changes from the Board of directors is routed through the PRC and congress for consideration. Pressure from Unions There are 4 unions representing around 90% of the USPS workforce: National Association of Letter Carriers, American Postal Workers, National Rural Letters Carriers Association and National Postal Mail Handlers Union. These organizations have successfully contracted collective bargaining agreements for its members for compensation and benefits that have come to exceed the USPS’ ability to maintain with its current revenues. These labor unions are very influential in weighing in on most of the decisions that affect the well-being of the USPS labor force. Presently USPS employees enjoy 79% coverage of their health care costs; the most of any federal agency. Strategic challenge Over the years the USPS has transformed its operating model and is now set up and mandated to operate like a business entity generating its revenue through the sale of postal products and services. The largest issue with the current business model of the postal service is its lack of flexibility essential for a business in a dynamic market. Specifically the USPS has not been able to organizationally adjust to a large decrease in the demand for first class mail service has resulted in decreasing net revenue in recent years. Congressional Influence The USPS congressional charter came with both benefits and operating constraints. Among the constraints the USPS is obligated to provide a uniform price for its services regardless of the geographic location and dispersion of its customer base. The USPS is obligated to deliver six days a week to every mailing address regardless of its mail volume. Additionally the USPS is required to provide free mailing service to the blind and facilitate voting for overseas military personnel. A significant amount of the USPS’ operating costs comes from its requirement to pre-fund retiree health benefits (RHB) for future retirees. Key Issues The USPS is suffering from the combined effects of declining mail volume from new technology and increasing labor costs resulting in a loss of net revenue. These declines are projected to extend into the future. The addition of a significant number of new addresses in the United States each year increases the USPS’ operating costs although volume is decreasing. Business Model – While the USPS has enjoyed the benefits of the monopoly on first class letter mail services that congress has bestowed, it has a stagnant business model that prevents the USPS from being able to adapt in the face of technological innovation and other market forces that affect its bottom line annually. The major source of revenue for the post office is the postage it charges for first class and non-standard mail. The advance of modern information systems such as email, smartphones, online banking, and other digital communications decreased the demand for traditional mail services. Compounding this issue is the basic economic principle of supply and demand. New technologies offer cheaper substitutes for the services that the post office provides. Stakeholders Postal Workers – The USPS employs more than 500,000 employees making it second only to Wal-Mart as the nation’s largest civilian employer. While every employee is represented by a labor union, employees are legally restricted from striking. Labor Unions – The USPS unions are old, influential and politically connected. Collectively, these unions continually fight for increased employee pay, living allowances and health care benefits. Postal Regulation Commission (PRC) – The PRC serves as the middleman between the USPS board of governors and congress. The PRC can reject or modify requests before they reach congress for final approval. Congress – Members of Congress exercise control over many aspects of the USPS operations including approving the markets for which it competes as well as representing the interests of its constituents whenever the USPS requests changes to its business model. Public Consumer – One of the mandates of the post office is to provide mail service of all addresses. The number of addresses has increased by nearly 18 million nationwide in the past decade and continues to climb as the country recovers from the past recession. A vast majority of the consumers are congressional constituents to whom member of congress are responsible. Competitors The USPS monopolizes, via congressional mandates, the delivery of first class mail, non-urgent mail and small packages. As such it faces very little direct competition from other businesses. However, the USPS has seen significant decreases in its mail volume over the years. The decreased volume of mail is directly related to the global acceptance of technology and use of digital communications which displaced traditional USPS services. Market Forces The USPS full time workers cost the USPS 80% of its revenue. Although they still enjoy a monopoly on first class mail, they are in direct competition with smaller, more efficient, companies who deliver large packages and urgent letters. Strategies Used What it Does Now – The USPS has improved its efficiency and effectiveness through both technology and reorganization. The USPS made significant investments in the late 1990’s in fuel efficient vehicles and new facilities as well as a $15 million advertising campaign to improve its image as a progressive and modern organization. A decade ago it took 70 employees one hour to sort 35,000 letters. Today in an hour, only two employees process an identical volume of mail. Though the number of addresses in the nation has increased by nearly 18 million in the past decade, the number of employees who handle the increased delivery load has decreased by more than 200,000 (Potter 2010a). It launched delivery confirmation service and priority mail in order to compete with competitors. The USPS now operates more than 31,000 post offices and the largest vehicle fleet in the world, with an estimated 218,684 vehicles. What They Want to Do – Concerned with increasing costs and decreasing revenues, the USPS petitioned for the following changes: * Stop Retiree Health Benefits prefunding – in 2011 the prefunding amount exceeded net operating losses. * Retirement System Overpayment – In 2010 Government Accountability Office disputed overpayment freezing approximately $6.9 billion. * Delivery Frequency – Shifting from six to five days weekly delivery would save approximately $3 billion annually. This measure is supported by 75% of USPS consumer base. * Change prices – Mandates currently cap the USPS ability to adjust to market conditions dynamically. * Restructure labor costs – Current collective bargaining decision do not consider the USPS financial health yet mandate compensation and benefits to be paid at levels comparable with private sector organizations with the burden falling on the taxpayers. * Consolidate infrastructure – A proposal in 2009 to close 3,000 postal outlets to reduce excess capacity yielded only a closure of 157 following consumer complaints and congressional intervention. Part II Diagnosis Lewis (2011) states that the USPS’ problems are a result of a restrictive business model and its inflexibility to operate in a dynamic market place. As stated earlier, the USPS response to this problem is a direct plan to cut expenses and increase revenues to overcome their mounting deficit. Although this plan does address the USPS’ immediate insolvency concerns, it fails to address their underlying issues. Through the use of Senge’s system approach and the McCaskey’s Organizational Design model, this paper will expose USPS’ root problems. Strategic Issues/Strategies/Goals-Objectives The USPS’ strategic issues are a loss of revenue due to declining mail volume, extensive costs due to a bloated and expensive unionized-workforce and the use of an outdated-legislatively constrained business plan. Their proposed strategy to mitigate these issues centers on cutting their expenses, consolidating infrastructure, renegotiating labor cost/employee benefits and increasing rates. In addition, the USPS intends to evolve their business plan to incorporate technological innovations. This strategy aligns with their long term goal of providing a â€Å"trustworthy, dependable, reliable and secure means to communicate on a national level† (Lewis, 2011), by implementing a long term sustainable business model that promotes flexibility and economic growth in a dynamic market. Environment In FY11 the USPS’ total revenues were $65 Billion dollars while their total expenses were $75 Billion dollars. Under congressional law the USPS is required to be a â€Å"self-sufficient government agency†. Under this direction the USPS is obligated to cover its costs without government assistance. The USPS does this by generating revenues from a monopoly market while operating more like a private business then a government agency. Its government backed monopoly advantage comes with extensive congressional restrictions on rates, delivery procedures and labor benefits. The USPS’ monopoly restricts the direct competition in the delivery of first class mail, use of specific delivery routes and personal mailboxes. It does not protect the delivery of urgent mail and large packages. FedEx and UPS are direct competitors in this market and have a competitive advantage due to their efficiencies, technological innovations and ability adapt to market needs. Key Success Factors The USPS’ key to success is their ability to meet their customer’s needs, generate enough revenue to cover their costs , maintain the flexibility to adjust in a dynamic market and optimize a scalable infrastructure that facilitates the efficient and economic delivery of their services. Task Requirements There are multiple ways that mail is accepted into the delivery process. For the purpose of observing the USPS organizational structure, the simple method of customers placing the mail in their residential, or post office, curbside mailbox will be examined. In either case this process begins and ends with the customer sending or receiving mail at a mailbox. The mail item is received by the postal carrier, and then consolidated at the local post office, where it is inspected manually or automatically checked for correct postage. It is then routed to a hub for delivery to a particular region in the country. The mail is then sent to a final processing plant where it is sorted for the specific route for delivery. Finally the mail is sent to the distant end post office for delivery to the end customer. The mail is moved in a linear manner between each node in the process chain. Along the interdependency continuum of the USPS’ functional units we observed a sequential relationship. Throughout the process each entity produces an output that is a necessary input for the next link in the chain. The USPS’ key to success in this linear process is the secure delivery of mail for a nominal fee. For their part, the workers must be honest and ensure mail is properly safeguarded as it makes its way through each step in the chain. The workers only have to be ‘good enough’ for their specific task in the process. This means that there is very little incentive for them to innovate or make improvements to the process from within. Any efficiencies gained, in any one link in the process, are not readily propagated throughout because of the sequential nature of the process. Because of the nature of change within the organization, and the employee compensation structure, their only incentive is to maintain the status quo. This analysis is represented in the interdependency/coordination mechanism model below. The analysis shows a misalignment between the levels of interdependence between the functional units and the coordination mechanism used. The USPS coordinates through rules and regulations. Using the systems approach of focusing on successes rather than the failures of the organization, we compared the USPS current coordination level to its closest successful competitor, FEDEX. As depicted FEDEX has a coordination level that aligns with it level of interdependency. The preferred and optimal approach is to align the organization’s level of interdependency horizontally with the coordination mechanism. The USPS needs a higher coordination mechanism to match the current level of interdependence in order to facilitate efficiencies in the system. Process/ Systems Snowfall and showers may not be able to stop postal carriers from their appointed delivery routes, but their financial problems may halt at least 50% of all postal offices. The U.S. Postal Service, weakened by a public turning to digital communications, is down 22 percent in volume from just five years ago, a decline which is expected to continue, driven in part by rigid competition from carriers such as FedEx and UPS. The Postmaster General has responded with a list of cost-cutting proposals, such as eliminating Saturday delivery and closing up to 3,700 local post offices which would be replaced with automated centers operating out of local businesses. The Postmaster General has also proposed laying off as many as 120,000 workers, and pulling workers out of more costly federal pension plans. Pre-funding retiree benefits has cost the Postal Service $21 billion in the last three years. The underlying issue is that all those moves cannot be made without congressional approval. In order to make these immediate and dramatic changes, the Postal Service would require access to its own funds as well as the authority to act as its own corporation. The transition from a government ran entity to a privatized organization requires Congress to give the USPS flexibility to take action and make changes without all the bureaucracy. The below modified Senge Model (Limit to Growth) demonstrates how the USPS is constrained from making changes. In short, the USPS is limited by congress to making quick and reactive changes that focus on the problem rather than the underlying issue. Creating change and making it work are all resisted by a condition called the â€Å"Status Quo† and the USPS is no exception. USPS employees feel protected under the current unionized culture. They feel threatened by the prospect of losing benefits and are unwilling to pay the high personal price necessary for change. We have demonstrated that this change is necessary for the long term health of the organization. The real question is, â€Å"does the current status quo fit the new change requirements?† An organization in dire need to make radical adjustments to become current cannot be fixed with antiquated congressional imposed constraints. PART III Change Management Plan The USPS acknowledges its need to cut costs and increase revenue. It believes this will fix the problems. USPS starts to address this by taking reactionary measures, but fails to take the necessary steps to address the root issue. We argue that there is a more fundamental problem within the USPS organization which requires a systems approach to identify and solve. Senge says â€Å"it is impossible to change the system from inside the system.† By â€Å"complicating up† the USPS management structure we identify the core problem and faults in its system. Due to the short time needed to enact this change we propose a top down approach that pushes change while mitigating assumed employee resistance such an approach will generate. Our plan uses the Lewin and Kotter models to shape the USPS organizational transition. Through the Lewin model we identify a three phase approach to address changes that simultaneously focuses on employee and organizational issues. Throughout each p hase an information plan is propagated to employees to facilitate transition to the next phase. Conclusion The bottom line is that the USPS current costs of doing business outweigh its current methods of productivity. Without changing the strategic management model, the USPS will continue to lose revenue and be unable to react effectively to market demands. Its proposed cost cutting solutions only scratches the surface of the underlying problem of restrictions on organizational management and coordination. Our uses validated organizational change models. We justify our plan which uses the Lewin model and shows a close association to Kotter’s organizational change model. Our plan leads the USPS to long term success, maintains its relevance in today’s market and allows it to make appropriate changes through periodic reevaluations. References Lewis, T., Montgomery C., Shuler, J. , (2011), The US Postal Service , Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA. Senge, P., (1990), The Fifth Discipline, Doubleday Publishing, New York 15May 2012: http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2011/pr11_124.htm> 15 May 2012: http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj31n1/cj31n1-9.pdf 19 May 2012: http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/industries/Transportation-Communications-Utilities/United-States-Postal-Service.html

Specific User System Requirements

Specific RequirementsThis section provides comprehensive details on all requirements. It should include all of the details which the designer will need to create the design. The details that is shown below should be defined as individual specific requirements such as User Requirements and System Requirements. It also contains all of the software requirements to a level of detail sufficient to enable designer to design a system to satisfy those requirements and testers to test that the system satisfies those requirements.User RequirementsThe user must enter the correct username and password otherwise they cannot access through the system. The system should reports invalid log in errors. The system shall provide a facility in changing user accounts: Username and Password allowing the users to modify their accounts. The system should report any violation. The system should automatically generate bills and receipt, and other functional reports. The system can also void purchase order and should include search facility on different products information. The system should keep records on every actions that has been made.System Requirements1. Log in and log out a. Users must be able to log in and log out b. The users must enter correct user accounts to access the system c. The users can change their accounts 2. Viewing the system main menu a. The system should have a clear and user friendly interface. 3. Rendering order transaction a. The system should provide bills and receipt 4. Viewing / Retrieving / Modifying records a. The user must be able to create and update records 5. Viewing and evaluation of records